(Quebec) The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (LHJMQ) promises to set up a new “independent” process, which will not be affiliated with the circuit, by which any player who believes he is the victim of violent or inappropriate acts can file a complaint. .
The president of the board of directors of the Saguenéens de Chicoutimi and president of the Assembly of members of the QMJHL, Richard Létourneau, affirmed that this new process, or committee (he used both terms), will be created in time for the next hockey season. For now, complaints sent to the QMJHL are handled by an employee of the circuit.
Mr. Létourneau answered Thursday by videoconference to questions from parliamentarians responsible for studying the phenomenon of hazing in junior hockey and in other sports. In his testimony, he defended his league and the many mechanisms, support and training that are put in place to make young hockey players model citizens.
No one wins when a QMJHL player suffers or commits degrading acts. Neither the victim, nor his parents, nor his foster family, nor his team, nor his coach, nor his general manager, nor his owner, nor the league. […] [C’est la] responsibility of all of those I have just named, and not just the Commissioner, to do everything possible to ensure that such acts do not happen again and that all those that happened, yesterday or 30 years ago, be brought to light.
Richard Létourneau, Chairman of the Chicoutimi Saguenéens Board of Directors and Chairman of the QMJHL Members’ Assembly
A recent Ontario Superior Court ruling uncovered testimonies from former junior hockey league players across the country who described violent acts suffered during initiations in the past, such as sticks inserted into the anus, genital mutilation and victims humiliated by being sprayed with urine or excrement.
In front of the parliamentarians in Quebec, Mr. Létourneau affirmed that he had never been made aware of such acts since he gravitated within the QMJHL. He also recalled that initiations were officially prohibited by the league. On Tuesday, the acting commissioner, Martin Lavallée, for his part announced that he had launched an independent investigation into allegations of events “of a sexual nature” which would have occurred in the 1990s.
Put an end to the “omerta”
For its part, the organization Sport’Aide – which offers online and telephone support services for young athletes who are victims of violence – reiterated Thursday in a parliamentary committee that it was necessary to put an end to the “omerta” concerning the unacceptable acts committed during certain initiations and which concern all sports, not just hockey.
The director general of Sport’Aide, Sylvain Croteau, read the testimony of a former athlete, now in his fifties, which demonstrates the extent to which hazing in sport has deep roots.
I played several sports, but hockey was the one in which I excelled and in which my parents invested a lot. It has long been known and recognized that sport and violence are unfortunately intimately linked. But the most destructive and traumatic violence is the one I suffered, not from a coach or an opponent, but from my own teammates.
Excerpt from the testimony of a former hockey player read by Sylvain Croteau, general manager of Sport’Aide
“Finally, I understand today that this nightmarish season is one of the reasons why I subsequently refused all the invitations received for the QMJHL team selection camps. There was no question of reliving this harassment, this humiliation and this fear already experienced, ”concludes the former athlete in his testimony read in parliamentary committee.
For Sport’Aide, “this quote also underlines an important component of abusive initiations which is the omerta surrounding them”.
“A striking statistic on the subject reports that 12% of athletes say they have experienced an abusive initiation, while 80% describe having experienced behavior during their initiations that can be classified as abusive. The discrepancy between these two statistics is explained in particular by the trivialization of abusive behavior during initiations in a sporting context, ”says the organization.
Over the next few weeks, the MNAs who sat on the parliamentary committee will submit a report that will be read by the Minister responsible for Sport, Isabelle Charest. Faced with the testimonies that have shaken the world of hockey in recent weeks, Mme Charest promised to review the existing mechanisms for handling complaints.